Miss America Beauty Pageant

Malcah Zeldis, Miss America Beauty Pageant, 1973, oil on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.66
Copied Malcah Zeldis, Miss America Beauty Pageant, 1973, oil on masonite, 4840 in. (121.9101.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.66

Artwork Details

Title
Miss America Beauty Pageant
Date
1973
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4840 in. (121.9101.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on masonite
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Ceremony — other — beauty contest
Object Number
1998.84.66

Artwork Description

Malcah Zeldis spent several years living on a kibbutz in Israel and gave herself the Hebrew name Malcah, which means "queen," when she was nineteen. After she returned to the United States, she began to paint satires of American rituals, including national holidays, funerals, and splashy weddings. Zeldis points up the contrast between the golden blondes who dominate this painting and the dark-haired, dark-skinned people around them. The meaning is unclear, but the image suggests that the artist was coming to terms with a culture very different from what she had known in Israel.